Ireland Trip - Day 10 (July 26): Sligo to Donegal

After our third breakfast of oatmeal at Tree Tops (such good oatmeal!) we loaded our things in the car, bid farewell to Doreen, and headed north. We first stopped at Carrowmore, a collection of about 30 megalithic tombs, constructed sometime between 4,300 and 3,500 B.C. (wow). We arrived very early, and enjoyed walking around the misty sites before anyone else arrived. I found it particularly interesting how life has just gone on around them – just a number of meters away are farmhouses and cows. Very different from the States, where everything would be fenced off and pushed away.

Carrowmore



After we left Carrowmore and headed north, we left the N15 just past Drumcliff and headed west. Out past Lissadel, very close to Carrigeens, is where my great-grandmother was born. Unfortunately, since the time my uncle visited a few years ago, the cottage she lived in was torn down. We did, however, find the cemetery where some of our ancestors and distant relatives are buried, and located the pub (Jordans), managed by a very-distant cousin. We were a bit sad that the cottage wasn’t there any more, but it was so nice to see where the family had come from. Now I understand why we both love rolling hills and the sea so much – it’s in the blood!

Ben Bulbin


The family's resting place


And their other resting place

We then continued north through Bundorin and Ballyshannon and right through Donegal Town (we’d be back later in the day). We then headed west, through Killybegs and Kilcar, all the way out to Malin Beg. We encountered a number of sheep along the way, once again placidly munching away as we drove by. We stopped at a few shops to look at the knits, but didn’t purchase anything – hadn’t quite found the perfect item yet (though some came awfully close). At Malin Beg we climbed down the VERY long stairway/path to the beach, and spent some time there taking photos (and avoiding the tour bus at the top).

Malin Beg

After Malin Beg, we headed up and around the peninsula, stopping in Ardara to look in some of the shops. We had a late lunch/early dinner at a pub there – soup and a jacket potato for me, a hamburger for mom. We then headed back down to Donegal, where we checked into Ard Na Breatha – a lovely guesthouse and restaurant owned by Theresa and Albert Morrow. Theresa greeted us and showed us to our room – a very nice room on the first floor at the back of the building. We unloaded our bags, unpacked (we would again be staying for three nights), took advantage of the full-sized tub, and off to bed.

The edge of the world


Ard Na Breatha